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Military prowess, medical knowhow

03 Aug 2021

The truth is, Sri Lanka is going through a difficult time, even though the Government has claimed that the country is stable and has the potential to return to the pre-Covid-19 era in no time. To make matters worse, on top of the pandemic, the country is forced to deal with protests and demands by various parties including teachers and healthcare workers. However, amidst all the so-called crises, the country has to move forward, without any disruption to the most essential activities including Covid-19 management efforts. When healthcare workers threatened to withdraw from their duties, including those related to the vaccination drive, owing to salary and facilities-related matters, the Government had to take a decision to see to it that healthcare workers’ protests do not affect the ongoing Covid-19 management efforts, which resulted in the Government deciding to get the military – one of the largest workforces – to continue the vaccination drive. In fact, after the military took over a considerable share of the duties pertaining to the vaccination drive, the vaccination drive was expedited drastically, and some media reports that quoted people who got vaccinated from military-run vaccination centres had said that the military had sped up many aspects of the vaccination drive, including documentation-related activities. It should also be noted that it was after the military got involved in the vaccination drive that Sri Lanka recorded the highest number of people vaccinated in a single day, i.e. 500,000, which was even applauded by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The military’s involvement in Covid-19 management efforts has been praised by some due to their efficiency, while some who disapproved of the military being involved in matters that concern civilians have viewed this as just another act that relates to what they call the Government’s ongoing efforts towards militarisation. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages to the military’s involvement in health and civilian-related matters. First of all, we cannot blame the Government, because getting the military involved was the most sensible decision when healthcare workers started protesting during the pandemic. The military is one of the largest workforces in the country that has been trained to perform their duty effectively and efficiently with discipline. Also, even though we tend to refer to them simply as “the military”, the vaccination drive is essentially administered by medical officers attached to the military, who have had training to handle health and medical matters. Also, it should be noted that the military has been involved in Covid-19 management efforts since the beginning, and the National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NCPCO) Task Force Head is Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva. However, the vaccination drive is not only about efficiency, and as far as its medical aspects are concerned, we cannot rule out the fact that whoever handles it, they must have had in-depth training about the strategic management of such a national-level endeavour which involves the health of civilians. Also, the implementation, results, and conclusions of the vaccination drive act as decisive factors that determine the future strategies with regard to the management of Covid-19 in the country, and health experts are the best at it. Therefore, the military’s involvement is extremely important, but at the same time should be handled appropriately. If the strategic component of the vaccination drive is handled by experts in the field, the military can in fact be excellent enforcers and doers. Problems are only likely to arise if and when the strategy formulation is also entrusted to the military, simply because that requires advanced knowledge and experience in the relevant field. What can we not achieve when manpower and expert knowledge are combined?


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